National news in brief, 5/23

PHOENIX — Jurors in the Jodi Arias murder trial told the judge Wednesday they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether the convicted murderer should be sentenced to life in prison or death for killing her former boyfriend, prompting the judge to instruct them to continue deliberations and try to work through their differences.

The jury reported its impasse after only about 2½ hours of deliberations that began Tuesday afternoon.

"I do not wish or intend to force a verdict," Judge Sherry Stephens told the jurors before sending them back to continue discussions. She instructed them to try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement as they work toward a decision.

Under Arizona law, a hung jury in the death penalty phase of a trial requires a new jury to be seated to decide the punishment. If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge would then sentence Arias to spend her entire life in prison or be eligible for release after 25 years.

North Dakota

Dam protects town after heavy rainfall

BISMARCK — A dam that threatened to give way and flood a North Dakota town was holding Wednesday, though the 1,300 residents of Cavalier were still being told to stay away from their homes.

Steady rainfall between Friday and Tuesday dumped about 9 inches of rain on parts of Pembina County, swelling creeks and rivers and sending water flowing across the countryside from west to east in the east-sloping county. The small town of Crystal flooded Tuesday, forcing a few residents from their homes, and people in Cavalier — about 85 miles north of Grand Forks — were told to evacuate Tuesday night as a precaution should the Renwick Dam about six miles west of town on the Tongue River be overwhelmed.

New York

Twitter increases security protocols

NEW YORK — Twitter is adding an extra security measure to users' accounts in an effort to prevent unauthorized logins.

Twitter said in a blog post that users will be able to enroll in a login verification program. For those who sign up, Twitter will send a six-digit code using a text message each time they sign in to Twitter.com. Besides their username and password, users will have to enter the code as well to log in.

Microsoft, Google and Facebook already allow two-step verification as an option. Twitter has been criticized for not having this option, especially following recent breaches of Twitter accounts belonging to major news organizations and other companies.

Unlike the other Internet companies, though, Twitter will ask users for a verification code each time they log out and log back in, even if it's from the same computer.

Twitter users can sign up for two-step verification under their account settings. To do this, Twitter will ask for either a confirmed email address or a verified phone number.